By now, you probably already understand that Russell Westbrook is pretty much the entire Oklahoma City Thunder team.The team’s entire offensive attack revolves directly through him and Oklahoma City’s MVP candidate has shouldered the load throughout the entire season, willing his franchise to the playoffs with historic night after historic night.But what happens when he needs to take a rest has become an issue for the Thunder.After all (though it may be hard to believe), he is a human being.When Westbrook rested late in the third quarter and early into the fourth, the Thunder were outscored 13-4 and a 75-68 lead turned into a 81-79 deficit. After the game, center Steven Adams was asked why the Thunder appear to collapse without Westbrook on the court. But, before he could answer, Westbrook jumped in to defend his teammates:"Hold on, Steven," Westbrook said. "I don't want nobody to try and split us up. We're all one team. If I go to the bench and Steven's on the floor and I'm off the floor, we're in this together. Don't split us up. Don't try to split us up. Don't try to make us go against each other or make it Russell and the rest of the guys. Russell against Houston. I don't want to hear that. We're in this together. We play as a team. That's all that matters.”He continued, "Say, 'Russell, the team hasn't played well’. Don't say, ‘When Russell goes out, the team doesn't play well.' That doesn't matter. We're in this together.”He followed that up with saying “next question” multiple times, dismissing the reporter completely and not allowing his teammate to answer.Westbrook finished Game 4 with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists and had a triple-double at halftime. Adams had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds.Brodie also became the first player in NBA history to complete three-straight 30-point triple-doubles.

While Adams probably wouldn’t have given much of an answer to the reporter’s question, it was certainly a valid one.

When Westbrook has been on the court this series, his team has outscored James Harden and the Houston Rockets. However, when he’s been on the bench, Oklahoma City has been outscored by a wide margin.

That’s not a coincidence.

Game 5 will take place on Tuesday at 8:00pm EST from the Toyota Center in Houston. Maybe Billy Donovan will keep Westbrook on the floor for all 48 minutes in that must-win game.